Time running out for wild elephants

KASANE, Botswana: African elephants could be extinct in the wild within a few decades, experts warned on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) at a major conservation summit in Botswana that highlighted an alarming decline in numbers due to poaching for ivory. The Africa Elephant Summit, held at a tourist resort in Kasane, gathered delegates from about 20 countries across Europe, Africa and Asia, including China—which is accused of fuelling the illegal poaching trade. “This species could be extinct in our lifetime, within one or two decades, if the current trend continues,” Dune Ives, senior researcher at Vulcan, a philanthropic organization run by US billionaire Paul Allen, said.